An online physical simulation method for enhanced oil recovery by air injection in shale oil

In order to understand the mechanism of air flooding shale oil, an online physical simulation method for enhanced shale oil recovery by air injection was established by integrating CT scanning and nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR). The development effect of shale oil by air flooding under different depletion pressures, the micro-production characteristics of pore throats with different sizes and the mechanism of shale oil recovery by air flooding were analyzed. The effects of air oxygen content, permeability, gas injection pressure, and fractures on the air flooding effect in shale and crude oil production in pores with different sizes were analyzed. The recovery of shale oil can be greatly improved by injecting air into the depleted shale reservoir, but the oil displacement efficiency and the production degree of different levels of pore throats vary with the injection timing. The higher the air oxygen content and the stronger the low-temperature oxidation, the higher the production degree of pores with different sizes and the higher the shale oil recovery. The higher the permeability and the better the pore throat connectivity, the stronger the fluid flow capacity and the higher the shale oil recovery. As the injection pressure increases, the lower limit of the production degree of pore throats decreases, but gas channeling may occur to cause a premature breakthrough;as a result, the recovery increases and then decreases. Fractures can effectively increase the contact area between gas and crude oil, and increase the air sweep coefficient and matrix oil drainage area by supplying oil to fractures through the matrix, which means that a proper fracturing before air injection can help to improve the oil displacement effect under a reasonable production pressure difference.

Miscibility of light oil and flue gas under thermal action

The miscibility of flue gas and different types of light oils is investigated through slender-tube miscible displacement experiment at high temperature and high pressure.Under the conditions of high temperature and high pressure,the miscible displacement of flue gas and light oil is possible.At the same temperature,there is a linear relationship between oil displacement efficiency and pressure.At the same pressure,the oil displacement efficiency increases gently and then rapidly to more than 90% to achieve miscible displacement with the increase of temperature.The rapid increase of oil displacement efficiency is closely related to the process that the light components of oil transit in phase state due to distillation with the rise of temperature.Moreover,at the same pressure,the lighter the oil,the lower the minimum miscibility temperature between flue gas and oil,which allows easier miscibility and ultimately better performance of thermal miscible flooding by air injection.The miscibility between flue gas and light oil at high temperature and high pressure is more typically characterized by phase transition at high temperature in supercritical state,and it is different from the contact extraction miscibility of CO_(2) under conventional high pressure conditions.

Application of Fluid Phase Recovery Method in the Early Development of BZ26-6 Volatile Oil Field in Bohai Sea

BZ26-6 Oilfield is a kind of deep metamorphic rock buried-hill volatile oilfield in Bohai Sea, China. Its early development plan is restricted due to the simultaneous production of oil and gas in large sections of reservoirs, unclear understanding of formation fluid properties and uncertainty of gas-oil interface. Through theoretical research on phase recovery and experimental analysis of crude oil phase characteristics in the original formation, characteristic parameters of the equilibrium condensate gas fluid are restored and calculated. Through the superimposed phase diagram of volatile oil and condensate gas, BZ26-6 Oilfield is determined to be a volatile oil reservoir with a condensate gas cap, with formation pressure and saturation pressure of 36.1 MPa, respectively. Based on the research results of oil-gas phase behavior characteristics, the thermodynamic equations and equation of state are jointly used to solve the problem, and the content change curves of each component at different depths are drawn. Combined with the sensitivity analysis of numerical simulation, the gas-oil interface is determined to be -3726 m above sea level. The fluid phase analysis software, Fluidmodeler, is used to simulate volatile oil degassing and condensate gas separation experiments. In combination with oil and gas production data obtained through the production test, the specific oil recovery index and the specific gas recovery index are determined to be 0.408 m3/(MPa·d·m) and 1195 m3/(MPa·d·m), respectively. And the reasonable production capacity prediction is conducted on the early development of BZ26-6 Oilfield. The research results can provide a theoretical basis for the efficient development of similar complex oil and gas reservoirs.

Experimental study on wax deposition of highly paraffinic oil in intermittent gas-oil flow in pipelines

Oil-gas two phase wax deposition is a fairly common and open-ended question in flow assurance of multiphase transportation pipelines.This paper investigated the two main aspects of oil-gas two phase wax deposition layer:apparent thickness and crystal structure characteristics.A typical highly paraffinic oil in Bohai Sea,China,was used as the experimental material to investigate the wax deposition thickness in oil-gas two phase under the influence of different oil temperatures,superficial gas/liquid phase velocities and gas-oil ratios by using multiphase flow loop experimental device.Just as in the classical theory of wax molecular diffusion,it showed that wax deposition thickness of oil-gas two phase increased with increasing oil temperature.Analysis of the impact of different superficial phase velocities found that the actual liquid flow heat transfer and shear stripping was the gas phase dominant mechanisms determining wax deposit thickness.In addition,the crystal structure of the wax deposition layer was characterized with the help of small-angle X-ray scattering(SAXS)for different circumferential positions,flow rates and gas-oil ratios.The bottom deposition layer had a complex crystal structure and high hardness,which were subject to change over flow rate variations.Furthermore,the SAXS results provided evidence that the indirect effect of the actual liquid velocity modified by the gas phase was the main mechanism.Our study of the effect of gas phase on the wax deposition of oil-gas two phase will help shed light onto the mechanism by which this important process occurs.Our findings address a very urgent need in the field of wax deposition of highly paraffinic oil to understand the flow security of oilgas two phase that occurs easily in multiphase field pipelines.

Three-dimensional modeling of effect of surface intermetallic phase on surface defects of Al-Fe-Si aluminum foils during twin-roll casting

Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray energy dispersive spectrum analysis show that the clusters of intermetallic AlFeSi particle are distributed on or near the aluminum foil stock surfaces heterogeneously. 3D finite element modeling shows that these clusters of hard particles induce the fracture of the nano-scale lubricant oil film at first and further lead to severe deformation in the nearby aluminum foil substrate along the rolling direction. Consequently, the optical property in this region differs from that in the surroundings, resulting in surface defects.

Control Factors and Diversities of Phase State of Oil and Gas Pools in the Kuqa Petroleum System

Based on the analysis of the hydrocarbon geochemical characteristics in the Kuqa petroleum system of the Tarim Basin, this study discusses the causes and controlling factors of the phase diversities and their differences in geochemical features. According to the characteristics and differences in oil and gas phase, the petroleum system can be divided into five categories： oil reservoir, wet gas reservoir, condensate gas-rich reservoir, condensate gas-poor reservoir and dry gas reservoir. The causes for the diversities in oil and gas phases include diversities of the sources of parent material, maturity of natural gas and the process of hydrocarbon accumulation of different hydrocarbon phases. On the whole, the Jurassic and Triassic terrestrial source rocks are the main sources for the hydrocarbon in the Kuqa Depression. The small differences in parent material may cause diversities in oil and gas amount, but the impact is small. The differences in oil and gas phase are mainly affected by maturity and the accumulation process, which closely relates with each other. Oil and gas at different thermal evolution stage can be captured in different accumulation process.

Measurement of Diffusion Coefficients of Air in Silicone Oil and in Hydraulic Oil

A piston-cylinder apparatus was established to measure the solubility and diffusivity of air in dimethyl silicone oils and in hydraulic oils based on the PVT state equation of air and the solution of unsteady one-dimensional diffusion equation.The measured diffusivity-temperature relation can be well fitted by the Arrhenius equation for engineering applications.The correlation between the solute diffusivity D and solvent viscosity μ is examined.In terms of Eyring＇s activation theory,the activation in the air-silicone-oil diffusion process is quite different from that in the momentum transport of the silicone oil：the activation entropy of the former is positive while that of latter is negative.However,the activation enthalpies of the two processes are in the same order of magnitude,which leads to the observation that Dμ/T is roughly constant.

Phase-Selective Gelators Based on p-Alkoxybenzoyl for Oil Spill Recovery and Dye Removal

Oil spills result in tremendous damage to the environment and ecosystem.In this study,several p-alkoxybenzoyl-based gelators(1,2a,2b,2c,3)synthesized from commercially available materials were designed for recovering oil from an oil–water mixture.Gels with remarkable gelation ability in various oils were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction to study the driving forces of self-assembly.Notably,these gelators could achieve the goal of recycling oil from the oil–water mixture at room temperature.In addition,gelator 2b could be used to remove toxic dyes from aqueous solutions with high efficiency.Therefore,these compounds were considered promising materials for oil spill recovery and dye removal due to their practicality and high efficiency.

Oxidization characteristics and thermal miscible flooding of high pressure air injection in light oil reservoirs

Physical modeling,numerical simulation and field case analysis were carried out to find out the subsurface thermal oxidation state,thermal oxidation front characteristics and production dynamic characteristics of high pressure air injection thermal oxidation miscible flooding technology.The lighter the composition and the lower the viscosity of the crude oil,the lower the fuel consumption and the combustion temperature are.The thermal oxidation front of light oil and volatile oil can advance stably,and a medium-temperature thermal oxidation stable displacement state can be formed in the light oil reservoir under high pressure conditions.With strong thermal gasification and distillation,light oil and volatile oil are likely to form a single phase zone of gasification and distillation with thermal flue gas at the high-temperature and high-pressure heat front,finally,an air-injection thermal miscible front.In light oil reservoirs,the development process of high-pressure air-injection thermal miscible flooding can be divided into three stages:boosting pressure stage,low gas-oil ratio and high-efficiency stable production stage and high gas-oil ratio production stage.Approximately 70%of crude oil is produced during the boosting pressure stage and low gas-oil ratio high-efficiency and stable production stage.

Low-temperature oxidation of light crude oil in oxygen-reduced air flooding

Light crude oil from the lower member of the Paleogene Xiaganchaigou Formation of Gaskule in Qinghai Oilfield was selected to carry out thermal kinetic analysis experiments and calculate the activation energy during the oil oxidation process.The oxidation process of crude oi l in porous medium was modeled by crude oil static oxidation experiment,and the component changes of crude oil before and after low-temperature oxidation were compared through Fourier transform ion cy-clotron resonance mass spectrometry and gas chromatography;the dynamic displacement experiment of oxygen-reduced air was combined with NMR technology to analyze the oil recovery degree of oxygen-reduced air flooding.The whole process of crude oil oxidation can be divided into four stages:light hydrocarbon volatilization,low-temperature oxidation,fuel deposition,and high temperature oxidation;the high temperature oxidation stage needs the highest activation energy,followed by the fuel deposition stage,and the low-temperature oxidation stage needs the lowest activation energy;the concentration of oxygen in the reaction is negatively correlated with the activation energy required for the reaction;the higher the oxygen concentration,the lower the average activation energy required for oxidation reaction is;the low-temperature oxidation reaction between crude oil and air generates a large amount of heat and CO,CO_(2) and CH4,forming flue gas drive in the reservoir,which has certain effects of mixing phases,reducing viscosity,lowering interfacial tension and promoting expansion of crude oil,and thus helps enhance the oil recovery rate.Under suitable reservoir temperature condition,the degree of recovery of oxygen-reduced air flooding is higher than that of nitrogen flooding for all scales of pore throat,and the air/oxygen-reduced air flooding de-velopment should be preferred.

Phase behavior of heavy oil-solvent mixture systems under reservoir conditions

A novel experimental procedure was proposed to investigate the phase behavior of a solvent mixture(SM)(64 mol%CH4,8 mol%CO2,and 28 mol%C3 H8)with heavy oil.Then,a theoretical methodology was employed to estimate the phase behavior of the heavy oil-solvent mixture(HO-SM)systems with various mole fractions of SM.The experimental results show that as the mole fraction of SM increases,the saturation pressures and swelling factors of the HO-SM systems considerably increase,and the viscosities and densities of the HO-SM systems decrease.The heavy oil is upgraded in situ via asphaltene precipitation and SM dissolution.Therefore,the solvent-enriched oil phase at the top layer of reservoirs can easily be produced from the reservoir.The aforementioned results indicate that the SM has promising application potential for enhanced heavy oil recovery via solvent-based processes.The theoretical methodology can accurately predict the saturation pressures,swelling factors,and densities of HO-SM systems with various mole fractions of SM,with average error percentages of1.77%for saturation pressures,0.07%for swelling factors,and 0.07%for densities.

Comparison of outcomes of idiopathic macular holes treated by vitrectomy with air or silicone oil tamponade based on the hole size

AIM:To compare the efficacy of vitrectomy combined with air or silicone oil in the treatment of idiopathic macular hole(IMH).METHODS:According to the results of high-definition optical coherence tomography(HD-OCT),75 cases(75 eyes)of IMH in stage II-IV(Gass stage)in the General Hospital of Chinese PLA from January 2017 to December 2019 were collected for this retrospective study.The best corrected visual acuity(BCVA)and minimum diameter of IMH(MMHD)were measured.Eyes underwent vitrectomy combined with internal limiting membrane peeling operation,and were divided into disinfection air group(30 eyes)and silicone oil group(45 eyes)according to the intraocular tamponade.For MMHD≤400μm(MMHD1),there were 23 eyes in air group and 16 eyes in silicone oil group.For MMHD2>400μm(MMHD2),there were 7 eyes in air group and 29 eyes in silicone oil group.One month after surgery,the closure rates of IMH and BCVA were compared and analyzed.According to HD-OCT,the closure shape was graded with A(bridge closure)and B(good closure).RESULTS:The closure rates of air group and silicone oil group were 86.67%and 95.56%respectively with no significant difference(P>0.05);For MMHD1,those of air group and silicone oil group were 95.65%and 100%respectively with no significant difference(P>0.05);For MMHD2,those of air group and silicone oil group were 57.14%and 93.10%respectively,and those of the silicone oil group were higher than the air group(P<0.05).There was no significant difference in the closure shape grade between MMHD1 air group and silicone oil group(P>0.05).The proportion of Grade B in MMHD2 silicone oil group was higher than that in the air group(P<0.05).BCVA of each group after operation was better than that before operation,and there was no significant difference between air group and silicone oil group.While among them,MMHD1 air group was better than silicone oil group(P<0.05),and there was no significant difference between MMHD2 air group and silicone oil group(P>0.05).CONCLUSION:For smaller IMH(≤400μm),the efficacy of vitrectomy combined with air should be considered better than silicone oil;for larger IMH(>400μm),the efficacy of silicone oil may be better than air.

Comparison of oil displacement mechanisms and performances between continuous and dispersed phase flooding agents

To compare the oil displacement mechanisms and performances of continuous phase flooding agent(traditional polymer solution) and dispersed phase flooding agent(particle-type polymer SMG dispersion), the particle phase separation of SMG dispersion migrating in pores was simulated by using the microfluidic technology. Theoretically guided by the tree fork concentration distribution of red cells in biological fluid mechanics, the concentration distribution mathematical model of SMG in different pores is established. Furthermore, the micro and macro physical simulation experiments of continuous and dispersed phase flooding agents were carried out. The results show that the continuous flooding agent enters all the swept zones and increases the flow resistance in both larger and small pores. On the contrary, the particle phase separation phenomenon occurs during the injection process of dispersed flooding agent. The SMG particles gather in the larger pore to form bridge blinding, and the carrier fluid displace oil in the small pore. Working in cooperation, the SMG particle and carrier fluid drive the residual oil in the low permeability layers step by step and achieve the goal of enhanced oil recovery. The laboratory experimental results indicate that, the oil increment and water reduction effect of dispersed flooding agent is much better than that of continuous flooding agent, which is consistent with the field test results.

Air-SAGD technology for super-heavy oil reservoirs

The air oxidation of super-heavy oil at low temperature was studied in laboratory and its influences on oil viscosity, component and steam sweep efficiency before and after air-injection were analyzed. The feasibility, operation mode and air flooding effect at the late stage of steam assisted gravity drainage(SAGD) were investigated by numerical simulation. The experimental results show for vertical-horizontal well pair SAGD test area of Xing VI Formation in Block Du 84 of Liaohe Oilfield, the low temperature oxidation occurred between 150-250 ?C(steam chamber temperature), the oil viscosity increased greatly after low temperature oxidation, consequently, the oil displacement efficiency dropped sharply. Three development methods in the late stage of SAGD were simulated, i.e., steam + air low temperature oxidation, only air low temperature oxidation and only air high temperature oxidation. By comparing production dynamic curves and residual oil distribution etc., high temperature oxidation reduced the heat loss in late stage of SAGD, recovered the residual oil effectively, and prolonged reservoir development time.

Experimental investigation on stable displacement mechanism and oil recovery enhancement of oxygen-reduced air assisted gravity drainage

The effects of gravity,capillary force,and viscous force on the migration characteristics of oil and gas interface in oxygen-reduced air-assisted gravity drainage(OAGD)were studied through a two-dimensional visualization model.The effects of bond number,capillary number and low-temperature oxidation on OAGD recovery were studied by long core displacement experiments.On this basis,the low-temperature oxidation number was introduced and its relationship with the OAGD recovery was established.The results show that the shape and changing law of oil and gas front are mainly influenced by gravity,capillary force and viscous force.When the bond number is constant(4.52×10-4),the shape of oil-gas front is controlled by capillary number.When the capillary number is less than 1.68×10-3,the oil and gas interface is stable.When the capillary number is greater than 2.69×10-2,the oil and gas interface shows viscous fingering.When the capillary number is between 1.68×10-3 and 2.69×10-2,the oil and gas interface becomes capillary fingering.The core flooding experiments results show that for OAGD stable flooding,before the gas breakthrough,higher recovery is obtained in higher gravity number and lower capillary number.In this stage,gravity is predominant in controlling OAGD recovery and the oil recovery could be improved by reducing injection velocity.After gas breakthrough,higher recovery was obtained in lower gravity and higher capillary numbers,which means that the viscous force had a significant influence on the recovery.Increasing gas injection velocity in this stage is an effective measure to improve oil recovery.The low-temperature oxidation number has a good correlation with the recovery and can be used to predict the OAGD recovery.

Time Sequential and Phase-resolved Measurement and Analysis of Corona Discharge in Air and Streamer Discharge in Insulating Liquid

Insulation is one of the most important parts in a high voltage equipment.There are gaseous,liquid and solid insulations which are commonly used.In a high voltage transformer for example the insulating materials are all used.During operation of a high voltage equipment high electric stress may occur.Under extreme condition failure of the insulation may take place.Excessive electric field in air may cause corona discharges while in liquid insulation discharges may take place in the form of streamer.This paper reports experimental results on the corona and streamer discharges in air and silicone oil.The discharges were artificially generated around a needle tip in a needle-plane electrode system with gap length of 4 mm under sinusoidal and triangular voltages.The needle was made of steel with tip radius of 3 μm and curvature angle of 30°.The needle was made by Ogura Jewelry.The discharge pulses were measured using personal-computer based partial discharge(PD)measurement system with sensitivity of better than 0.5 pC.The system is able to measure discharge in time sequential.Phase-resolved analysis of the discharges was done to interpret the physical processes behind the discharges.The experimental results showed that corona discharges took place at negative half cycles.The discharges were concentrated around 270° of phase angle of applied voltage.The discharge magnitude and discharge number of corona clearly dependent on the instantaneous of applied voltage.These were strongly supported by the application of triangular voltage.Streamer discharges occurred at both positive and negative half cycles.The discharges pulses concentrated around the peak of applied voltage at phase angle of 90° and 270°.Experimental results under sinusoidal and triangular voltages revealed that streamer discharge magnitude as well as probability of occurrence was strongly dependent on the instantaneous applied voltage.

Structural Evolution and Phase Change Properties of C-Doped Ge_2Sb_2Te_5 Films During Heating in Air

We elucidate the importance of a capping layer on the structural evolution and phase change properties of carbondoped Ge2 Sb2 Te5（C-GST） films during heating in air. Both the C-GST films without and with a thin SiO2 capping layer（C-GST and C-GST/SiO2） are deposited for comparison. Large differences are observed between C-GST and C-GST/SiO2 films in resistance-temperature, x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,Raman spectra, data retention capability and optical band gap measurements. In the C-GST film, resistancetemperature measurement reveals an unusual smooth decrease in resistance above 110℃ during heating. Xray diffraction result has excluded the possibility of phase change in the C-GST film below 170℃. The x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy experimental result reveals the evolution of Te chemical valence because of the carbon oxidation during heating. Raman spectra further demonstrate that phase changes from an amorphous state to the hexagonal state occur directly during heating in the C-GST film. The quite smooth decrease in resistance is believed to be related with the formation of Te-rich GeTe4-n Gen（n = 0, 1） units above 110℃ in the C-GST film. The oxidation of carbon is harmful to the C-GST phase change properties.

Oil oxidation in the whole temperature regions during oil reservoir air injection and development methods

The oil oxidation characteristics of the whole temperature regions from 30 ℃ to 600 ℃ during oil reservoir air injection were revealed by experiments. The whole oil oxidation temperature regions were divided into four different parts: dissolving and inflation region, low temperature oxidation region, medium temperature oxidation region and high temperature oxidation region. The reaction mechanisms of different regions were explained. Based on the oil oxidation characteristics and filed tests results, light oil reservoirs air injection development methods were divided into two types: oxygen-reducing air flooding and air flooding;heavy oil reservoirs air injection in-situ combustion development methods were divided into two types: medium temperature in-situ combustion and high temperature in-situ combustion. When the reservoir temperature is lower than 120 ℃, oxygen-reducing air flooding should be used for light oil reservoir development. When the reservoir temperature is higher than 120 ℃, air flooding method should be used for light oil reservoir development. For a normal heavy oil reservoir, when the combustion front temperature is lower than 400 ℃, the development method is medium temperature in-situ combustion. For a heavy oil reservoir with high oil resin and asphalting contents, when the combustion front temperature is higher than 450 ℃, the development method at this condition is high temperature in-situ combustion. Ten years field tests of air injection carried out by PetroChina proved that air has advantages in technical, economical and gas source aspects compared with other gas agents for oilfield gas injection development. Air injection development can be used in low/super-low permeability light oil reservoirs, medium and high permeability light oil reservoirs and heavy oil reservoirs. Air is a very promising gas flooding agent.

Stability analysis of unsaturated soil slope during rainfall infiltration using coupled liquid-gas-solid three-phase model

Generally, most soil slope failures are induced by rainfall infiltration, a process that involves interactions between the liquid phase, gas phase,and solid skeleton in an unsaturated soil slope. In this study, a loosely coupled liquid-gas-solid three-phase model, linking two numerical codes,TOUGH2/EOS3, which is used for water-air two-phase flow analysis, and FLAC^(3D), which is used for mechanical analysis, was established. The model was validated through a documented water drainage experiment over a sandy column and a comparison of the results with measured data and simulated results from other researchers. The proposed model was used to investigate the features of water-air two-phase flow and stress fields in an unsaturated soil slope during rainfall infiltration. The slope stability analysis was then performed based on the simulated water-air two-phase seepage and stress fields on a given slip surface. The results show that the safety factor for the given slip surface decreases first, then increases, and later decreases until the rainfall stops. Subsequently, a sudden rise occurs. After that, the safety factor decreases continually and reaches its lowest value, and then increases slowly to a steady value. The lowest value does not occur when the rainfall stops, indicating a delayed effect of the safety factor. The variations of the safety factor for the given slip surface are therefore caused by a combination of pore-air pressure, matric suction, normal stress, and net normal stress.

Thermal properties in phase change wallboard room based on air conditioning cold storage

By comparing the thermal performance parameters of an ordinary wall room with a phase change wall (PCW) room,the effect of phase change wallboard on the fluctuation of temperature in air-conditioning room in summer was studied. And PCW room and an ordinary wall room,which are cooled by air-conditioner,were built up. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to test the temperature field and heat flow fluctuation in these rooms. Through analyzing the data tested,it is found that the mean temperature of PCW is lower than that of ordinary wall room by 1-2 ℃,and PCW can lower the heat flow by 4.6 W/m2. Combining phase change material to building envelope can lower the indoor temperature,make the room thermal comfortable,and cut down the turn-on-and-off frequency of air-conditioner,the primary investment and operating costs. It alleviates urgent need of the electric power. Building envelope which contains phase change wallboard can improve the indoor thermal environment,and decrease energy consumption in buildings. Phase change wallboard can make impressive effect on energy efficiency of buildings.